Torn Between East and West: The Regional Factor in Ukrainian Politics

Abstract

Two issues that are central to an understanding of post-Soviet party politics in Ukraine are examined in detail within the context of their regional variation. First is the lack of an organizational culture, which reflects the continued dominance of the former Communist Party nomenklatura in party politics in Ukraine. No powerful popular movements or parties have been able or willing to seriously challenge this dominance. Second is the split between Eastern and Western Ukraine, which becomes quite apparent in a review of returns from the 1994 parliamentary elections. Few political parties poll strongly in all parts of Ukraine; instead, there is a growing division between a nationalist West and a Russian-oriented East. The paper assesses the implications of the nomenklatura dominance and East-West division for the future of pluralist party democracy in Ukraine. 6 figures, 3 tables, 21 references.